Tiered wedding cakes are Kate Tynan’s forte. At Little Button Bakery in Marple, Stockport, the stacks of layered sponge reach impressive heights.
Tynan’s business, which she founded in 2013, was also rising before the coronavirus struck. She had just opened a studio for consultations, only made possible because her children — Noah, 8, and Martha, 6 — were at school.
Then lockdown hit in March and the wedding industry ground to a halt. Looking after and homeschooling her children made it tough for Tynan, 42, to shift the focus of Little Button, which turns over about £45,000 a year. “My husband is working full-time and he earns more than me, so it’s not financially viable to swap roles,” Tynan said.
She is not alone. Many